Clash of the Systems
by DeadtoSin
Summary: One year after Link's return to Hyrule, a strange, cyber-based evil is arising. With the help of a young Sheikah, The Hero of Time must find an ancient Sheikah artifact before he can even begin to fight this powerful new foe. Rated PG for now, I may mov


Well, I've decided to start on my new Zelda fanfic.  Read the summary if you want to know what it's about.  If you haven't played the Zelda games, here's a quick summary of the locations.  Hyrule is where most of the games are centered around.  It is Link's home world.  There will be references to Termina, Holodrum, and Labrynna, which are neighboring worlds reachable by interdimensional warps.  (If you've played Majora's Mask and Oracle of Ages & Seasons, you'll know what I'm talking about.  Some of the species of the Zelda games are the Hylians, the Zoras, the Gorons, the Gerudos, the Tokay, and the Kokiri.  Some will be mentioned in this story, and some won't.  If you don't know what they look like, don't worry.  I'll be sure to describe them subtly.  Unless otherwise stated, any character in his or her respective area will belong to that species.  For instance, everyone in Zora's Domain would be a Zora unless I say otherwise.  Anyone else will be a Hylian.  I will still be working on LOZ- The Real Story- Ocarina of Time, and I'll start Majora's Mask soon, too.  Unlike in LOZ-TRS-OoT, I won't bore you with a long, pointless introduction.  This story will be a narrative, not a script.  This plot is something I have never seen before, and I hope it will be unique to you as well.  Okay, that's about it.  I'll leave you with today's date: July 23, 2003, and jump right into the story.  Thanks for reading.  Be sure to send LOTS of reviews!  Bye. –Jacoman52

The Legend of Zelda: Clash of the Systems

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins (A/N: Well, that's an original first chapter title! [Not!])

"Navi, of course you can have a vacation," said Link.  

"Are you sure?"  Navi asked, "Because Tatl and Tael and I could wait until this summer."  Link laughed.  

"Yes, Navi, I'm sure.  You've been working very hard, and you deserve it."  

Link of Hyrule and Navi the fairy were sitting in Link's house.  No, I don't mean fairy like THAT!  Navi was Link's guardian fairy.  She was, in appearance, merely a glowing ball slightly smaller than a fist, with pixie wings.

Link, on the other hand, was not a fairy.  Link was a Hylian.  The Hylians are characterized by their long ears, which are said to allow them to hear the voices of the gods, (but you already knew that).  Above Link's ears was a long, floppy green hat.  It looked kinda like a Santa hat without the white ball thingy.  Link also wore a green tunic that was tied at the waist by a brownish-red belt.  He sported tall brown boots that covered half of his shins, and tights that covered…  Everything else.

Link was sitting in his one room tree house in the Kokiri Forest, while Navi hovered around his head.  They had just recently returned from Termina, negotiating the Inter-world Confederation pact between Labrynna, Holodrum, Hyrule, and Termina.  

Link shuddered to think of Termina.  There were so many bad memories.  Tingle, Skullkid, and the Gorman brothers to name a few.  You would think that all of the monsters would have been the worst part, but Link loved that kind of thing.  He was the Hero of Time, after all.

Anyway, the Inter-world Confederation Pact was an agreement between the four neighboring worlds to unite in a system of trade.  The leaders of the worlds had been there to negotiate the pact.  That included not only the Kings and Queens, but also any other people who influenced the governments of the worlds, such as the Seven Sages. (Or more specifically, Ruto)

Link shuddered again when he thought of the Zora Princess Ruto.  To think that he had (and officially still was) engaged to that… that… FISH!  Ugh!  Every moment of the conference she had been sidling up next to him, flirting with him, and at one point she had even- No!  Link quickly shook that thought out of his head.

"Link, why are you shaking your head?"  Navi asked.  

"Huh?  Oh, nothing Navi.  You were saying?"  Link directed his concentration to his fairy.  

"We were talking about vacation," Navi reminded him.  

"Oh yeah," Link remembered.  "Sure, I don't mind if you go.  I was thinking of heading over to the castle for a week or two myself.  But don't be gone long.  The last time you left, I spent four years looking for you."  

"But," Navi reminded him, "If I hadn't left, you never would have saved Termina from Majora's Mask, or stopped Ganon from coming back in Labrynna and Holodrum, or awakened the Wind Fish from his sleep, and followed him back to Hyrule where I was patiently waiting for you."  Navi quickly changed the subject, "So I can go?"

Link sighed, "Yes, Navi, you can go."

"Great!"  Navi released her long contained enthusiasm.  "See ya later Linky Boy!  I'm off to Florida!"  

Link smiled as Navi zipped out of the door.  That was the way with fairies.  They were always filled with excitement.  Link sat, gathering his thoughts for his plans this week.  He then grabbed his things, left his treehouse, and made his way for the lands outside the forest.  

Upon arriving at Hyrule Field, Link pulled out the Ocarina of Time.  This musical instrument had served Link well through many of his adventures.  Normally, Link would simply have warped to the Temple of Time and traveled to Hyrule Castle from there, since it was so much closer.  However, because the day was so nice, Link decided to ride.  He put the Ocarina to his lips and blew into it gently, moving his fingers expertly to make a beautiful melody.  The soothing notes of Epona's Song echoed across the hills.  A short time later, Link's horse, Epona, came galloping toward him.

"Good girl," said Link softly, petting Epona on the neck.  He mounted Epona and began trotting off.  Link chose to take the scenic route to the Castle Town, veering to the southern part of Hyrule, past Lake Hylia, because of the fine day.

As he was riding along, Link couldn't help thinking of the sunshine, the cool breeze, the- 

"Oof!"  His thoughts were cut off as he tumbled over the side of his horse.  Epona stumbled, but continued galloping along without him.  Link raised his face out of the ground and spat dirt out of his mouth.  

"Pfft!  That's what I get for not paying attention while ridi-" Link was again stopped short.  He slowly pulled himself to his feet and stared at the ground in front of him.  Protruding from the earth were two strangely shaped rocks.  As he looked closer, Link realized that they weren't rocks at all, but _horns_.  

The horns were greenish in color, and Link saw that there were several pairs of them scattered randomly across Hyrule Field.  Suddenly, the ground began to shake.  Link was knocked backwards by the violent quake.  In several places in the area, holes began to appear in the ground.  Glowing green digits, 1's and 0's, then replaced the darkness of the holes.  As the earthquake subsided, more horns emerged from wherever holes had appeared.  The glowing numbers disappeared.

Link quickly scrambled up and regained his composure.  He stared again at the objects in the ground.  He shook his head in amazement.  

"I have to tell Zelda about this."  Link took out his Ocarina of Time and played the Prelude of Light.  The peaceful song ended, and the Hero of Time disappeared in a flash of light, teleporting himself to the Temple of Time.

*  *  *

In another part of Hyrule, Kakariko Village Graveyard, another young man had felt the earthquake.  

"Mother, Impa, did you feel that?" he asked, sitting up from planting flowers in the graves.   

"Feel what, Sheik?" questioned the boy's mother.  Sheik and his mother, Elizabeth, were among the few surviving Sheikah of Hyrule.  Although most of the Sheikah had been wiped out in a great war, a few who had been off adventuring in other lands had settled down when they had children.  They refused to return to Hyrule believing all the Sheikah to be dead.  Those Sheikah were older now, but their children were quickly learning the ways of their people.  Elizabeth was one of those who left Hyrule many years ago in search of excitement.  She had settled in the nearby world of Termina when she had her son.  It was only when she recently heard that her sister Impa was still alive that she moved back to her homeland.  Several other Sheikah families had followed.

Link had been oblivious to all of this, since he had been out at sea for a year, searching for his own adventures.  When he finally made it back home, he was shocked to find that so many changes had befallen Hyrule.  The Inter-World Confederation pact was no surprise.  Link had been a big part of the events the sent it into action.  When he was 11 years old, he had discovered the parallel universe Termina when attempting to locate his lost guardian fairy, Navi.  When he was 14, he had saved Labrynna and Holodrum from an attempted return by the evil king, Ganon.  That adventure had lasted a year, and at the end, Link had sailed off to quench his thirst for thrill.  Now Link was seventeen, and he was Sheik's idol.  The sixteen-year-old Sheikah boy had worshipped the Hero of Time ever since they met.

Sheik looked to Impa to see her response to his question.  To his surprise, Impa was not even paying attention.  She had suddenly stopped her chore of planting flowers to stare off into the distance.  After a long time, she nodded, as if ending a conversation, and then turned to Sheik and his mother.  

"I have to go now," she said, and then disappeared in a flash of purple light, the signature color of the Sage of Shadow.  Sheik and his mother stared at each other in question.  They both shrugged, and went back to their chores.  It was not uncommon for Impa to be off on errands.  That was the life of a Sage.  Sheik was disappointed though.  For once he wished he could be out there, on adventures with his aunt or the Hero of Time.  Perhaps someday he would have his own adventure…

*  *  *

When Link arrived at Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda and five of the six sages were waiting for him in the courtyard.  There was Saria, Link's best friend from childhood, a Kokiri, and the Sage of Forest; Darunia, Link's Sworn Brother, a Goron, and the Sage of Fire; Ruto, the Sage of Water was Link's fiancé even though she was one of the fish-like Zoras; Impa, the Sage of Shadow; and Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit who hailed from the desert people called the Gerudos.  A castle guard led Link up to the semi-circle of Hyrulians seated on the stone platform at the end of the courtyard.  

            "Link!  Glad you could make it," said Princess Zelda,  "In case you were wondering, we felt it too."  

"The earthquake?" asked Link.  

"No," answered Impa.  "The presence of evil upon this land."

"Well, what is it?"

Nabooru shrugged.  "It could be a lot of things.  What did you see?"  Link told them what had happened.  When he was finished, Zelda shook her head.  

"This is out of our hands.  It's obviously some sort of trouble with the programming of this universe."

"Hacking?" Questioned Nabooru.

"Probably," Zelda replied, "It's going to take all of the sages to track down the location of this- whatever it is."  Zelda looked at each of the other sages one by one.  "That includes Rauru."

Various groans and sighs of disappointment were echoed among the sages.  Rauru, the Sage of Light, was disliked by all of them.  

"Can't we just leave that lazy old fart in the Evil Realm and work with him from there?" asked Darunia.

"No," Zelda said firmly,  "We have to have him here with us, using all our powers as one."  

"But what about Ganondorf?"  Asked Saria pointedly.  "We can't risk letting him out."

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a risk worth taking," said Zelda.  "And if I'm right about this, then Ganondorf will be negatively affected by the hacking too.  Maybe we can work up some compromise with him."

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.  

"After he tried to feed my Gorons to a long dead dragon?"  Darunia exploded.  "I don't think so!"

"Zelda," said Impa calmly.  "He forced you to live most of your life in hiding.

"Well I got it back didn't I?  Besides, we can worry about Ganon when the time comes.  For now, we just need to get into the Sacred Realm."

"You mean the Evil Realm," Link reminded her.  Zelda rolled her eyes.  

"Whatever.  Anyway, after we beat Ganon the first time, does everyone remember the precautions we took to make the seal on the _Evil_ Realm-" here Zelda looked pointedly at Link, "More secure?"  All the sages nodded, but Link was confused.  

"What precautions?" He asked.  "Where was I?"

"Oh, yeah," Zelda remembered, "You were off looking for your dumb fairy and fighting some mask thing in Termina."  

Link was appalled.  "You'd think someone would have told me something about this during the past six years!"  

"Oh, calm down.  We just made three extra spiritual stones, that's all.  There's the Sheikah Amethyst, the Gerudo Topaz, and the Hylian Diamond."  Zelda turned to the Sages.  "Go get the Spiritual Stones for your own races and bring them back here.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Move!"

            One by one, the six sages left the room, preferring to walk because teleportation took up so much energy.  Princess Zelda went back to her room to get ready for a meeting later that evening.  Only Impa and Link remained.  Link was about to step out, when the Sage of Shadow pulled him to the side.  

            "Link," said Impa, "I'm worried about Zelda.  She's been having a serious attitude problem lately."

            "I haven't noticed," said Link sarcastically.

            "Link, I'm serious.  I think the computer virus or whatever it is may be getting to her.  If that thing infects the Triforce…" Impa didn't have to finish.  They both knew the outcome.  Impa continued, "I want you to go to the Lost Woods to the Temple of Seasons.  It isn't the same temple that was in Holodrum, but they do have a few things in common.  In the temple is an ancient Sheikah artifact that may be able to protect you from getting infected."

            "But what if my Triforce of Courage gets hacked into before I get there?"  Link asked.

            Impa sighed, "I hesitate to do this, but I'm sending my nephew Sheik with you.  If anything happens, he'll be there to help."

            "Okay," said Link.  "I'll come to Kakariko Village to pick him up."  They both left the castle and headed to Impa's hometown.

*  *  *  
  


            When Sheik heard the news, he was ecstatic.  "When do we leave?!  I have to pack my things, I have to change my clothes, I-" Link cut Sheik off.  

"Calm down.  I know you're excited, but none of that is really necessary.  If you're going to help me, you can't be afraid of getting your clothes messed up.  We can pack one day's rations, but there's plenty of food in the forest."  Link could see his companion's embarrassment, so he added, "But I like the way you think ahead.  Good work."  The two friends smiled.

Sheik's mother, however was not nearly as enthusiastic about her son leaving.  "Impa, I'm not sure about this.  You remember when Grandma used to tell us the stories about that temple.  She helped build it, if you recall.  She was always saying how it was full of booby traps and such."  Impa shook her head at her younger sister.

"Liz," she said, calling her sister by her nickname, "You know how kids are.  You were about his age when you went off on your own adventure.  He needs some excitement, not to be stuck in this lazy little town all his life!"

"Fine," consented Elizabeth, raising her hands in submission, "But if he gets hurt, I…I couldn't…" Elizabeth's husband had been killed by wild Dodongos while searching for food one day.  He had fought bravely and killed many of them, but in the end there were just too many.  It was understandable that Sheik's mother was afraid of losing her son.

As Link and Sheik set out, a chorus of cheers arose from the Sheikah and Hylians of Kakariko Village.  The two friends walked down the steps leading out to Hyrule Field, swelling with pride.  Once again, the weight of the world was on Link's shoulders, but for once, he had someone to carry it with him.  Sheik tried to be modest, but he couldn't help grinning broadly, knowing that he would help the Hero of Time save the world.  Deep down, however, he wasn't sure he could handle the responsibility if Link somehow lost control of his mind.

When the pair reached the entrance to the field, Link called Epona.  Link climbed on his horse, and then helped Sheik on behind him.  Soon they were off, across the little bridge over Zora's River, and riding south towards Kokiri Forest.

In order to pass the time, Sheik started up a conversation with Link.  "Link, what was it like to find out that you weren't a Kokiri?" He asked.  Link sighed, and answered Sheik's question with one of his own. 

"How would you feel if you found out that you were a different species?"  Sheik replied, "I guess I would feel the same way I felt when I learned that Hyrule existed, and other Sheikah were still alive.  I was angry that I had never been told, but I know it wasn't my mom's fault.  She thought they were all dead, too.  I guess she never told me about them because she wanted to protect me."  

"Well, there you go," Link said.  They rode in silence for the rest of the way.  Sheik got the message that Link wasn't very talkative when he meant business.  Maybe he didn't talk much at all.  Or maybe the computer entity was already finding its way into Link's mind.  Sheik decided it was best not to ask.  If Link began to act differently, then Sheik would address the situation.

It was late evening when the two heroes reached the entrance to the forest.  Leaving Epona outside, they walked across the bridge that safely took them through the treacherous Lost Woods, which they would be entering later from a different area.

By the time Sheik and Link walked into Kokiri Forest, the Kokiri were already getting ready for bed.  

"Okay," said Link, "We can rest at my house for the night.  Boy, am I tired…" 

"Link," said Sheik, "Don't you think we should find the Temple of Seasons first?  I mean, we need to get you that protection from the hacking, right?"  Link's attention had been diverted.

"Huh?  Oh, yeah, you're probably right.  But where do we start looking?"

"Why don't we ask Saria?" Sheik questioned, nodding toward the green-haired girl hopping across the stones in the pond that separated the Great Deku Tree's Meadow from the rest of the forest.  

"Oh, sure," said Link drowsily, "Talk to Saria…" They began to make their way over to Saria, who spotted them and waved back cheerily.

"Hey guys!" yelled Saria.  "Impa told me you would be coming here.  You're looking for a Sheikah temple, right?"

"Yeah," said Link, "We need some artifact that will keep my Triforce from getting infected by the virus, or whatever it is," Link added.

"Do you know anything about the temple, Saria?" asked Sheik.

"Actually, I was just talking to the Deku Sprout about that.  Oh, by the way, while I was in the Great Deku Tree's Meadow I got this," she said, holding up the green Kokiri's Emerald.  "I left it in the eye of the old Great Deku Tree."

"What about the temple?" asked Link impatiently.  Saria looked up at him surprised.  It wasn't like Link to snap at her like that.  

"Well, uh, as you know, the Deku Sprout tapped is linked by the roots to the old Great Deku Tree, so he was able to get into a few of the Great Deku Tree's memories.  He said that he saw a tree in the Sacred Forest Meadow from a long time ago.  It had the Sheikah eye symbol on it.  You might start looking there."

"But there are no trees in the Sacred Forest Meadow.  It's carved completely out of rock.  I guess there were trees on the hill that it was carved out of, but it wasn't a meadow then," said Link.

"What about the trees on the hills above the meadow?  Or the tree overlooking the forest Temple?  Or the tree stump next to it?"  

Link shrugged, "I guess we'll find out once we get there.  Come on, Sheik."

"Okay," said Sheik, "Bye Saria!" he called back.

"Bye!" she replied, then added under her breath, "And be careful!"

The entrance to the Lost Woods was at the other end of the forest, on top of a small hill.  Link and Sheik breasted it and walked inside the woods.  The setting was ominous and eerie.  The Lost Woods could be a terrifying place at nighttime.  As the sun's last rays disappeared, a Wolfos howled somewhere in the distance.  Sheik was thankful that Link knew his way through the forest.  Before long, the two had reached the Sacred Forest Meadow.  It had long ago been carved lower than the surrounding hills, but some of the stone had been left to form the walls of a human-sized maze.  

"Alright, Sheik.  Are you ready for your first battle?"  Asked Link.  Sheik nodded his head to show that he was ready.  "Okay," said Link, "Here's the deal.  There are some Deku Scrubs in this maze.  They'll pop out of the ground and shoot seeds at us.  I'll deflect the seeds back at them with my shield, and you can finish them off when I knock them out of their holes, got it?"  

"Yeah."

"Okay, do you need a weapon?"  Sheik shook his head.

"I have my grappling hook," he said, holding up the three-pronged claw at the end of a rope, which was hooked to the right side of his belt.  He gave the rope some slack from his belt hook, and held it loosely at his side.  Link readied his shield, and they both stepped into the maze.

Fighting off the Deku Scrubs was fairly easy.  A scrub would spot them and begin firing seeds.  Link would bounce the seeds back at them, and Sheik would nail the fleeing scrubs with his grappling hook.  Towards the end, Sheik even climbed on top of the maze with his grappling hook and helped Link up.  Together they pelted terrified Deku Scrubs with a barrage of arrows and Sheik's metal claw.

When they reached the edge of the meadow where the Forest Temple was located, they were laughing their heads off.

"Ha ha!  Did you see the one I hit with a fire arrow?  He lit all of his friends on fire, running around like that!  They would've burned the whole forest down if they hadn't jumped into that puddle of water!"

"Yeah, but did you see those two I hit with my grappling hook?  They both thought it was the other one shooting seeds at them, and they attacked each other!"  The heroes continued laughing like idiots, until they sat down upon the stump next to the Forest Temple entrance.  

"Okay," said Sheik after a while, "We'd better get started."  They got up and walked to the tree that was on the opposite side of the temple.  After checking the trunk of the tree thoroughly, the friends found nothing.  They sat down for a break on the tree stump.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," said Link, "It could have been the tree stump we're sitting on before it was chopped down."  It didn't take long to find what they were looking for.  In the center of the stump was a tiny, snowflake-shaped mark.  Link seemed very excited.

"Shiek!  I've seen this before.  When I was in Holodrum, I received an item from the Temple of Seasons there."  He held out a red rod with four knobs at the end of it.  

"What is it?" asked Sheik.  Link showed him four markings on the handle of the rod.  One of them was the same snowflake shape that was on the tree stump.

"It's called the Rod of Seasons.  When I was in Holodrum, if I stood on top of a tree stump and swung the Rod, the season would change."  

Now Sheik was excited, too.  "Maybe it'll work here!"

Link walked over to the stump and hopped on top of it.  He swung the Rod of Seasons in a wide arc in front of him.  There was a flash of light, and suddenly the late spring evening changed to a summer one.  Twice more Link changed the season from summer to fall to winter.  Finally, he stopped.

Sheik shivered.  "Brr!  How do you get used to the sudden temperature changes?"  Ignoring Sheik's question, Link looked over at the tree trunk opposite him.  He soon saw what he was looking for.

"Look, Sheik, there it is!"  The ancient Sheikah eye symbol glowed brightly on the trunk of the tree.  But that wasn't all.  The symbol on Sheik's tunic was also glowing.  

"Sheik, go stand on that tree stump, I have an idea."  Sheik did as he was told.  The closer he got to the stump, the brighter the symbol on his chest glowed.  

Link backed up to get a better vantage point.  He was going to set the Rod of Seasons into the ground where a small hole had appeared, at the edge of the clearing, by the stairs.  Link didn't even have a chance to place the Rod in its place.  He froze, unable to move.  Before Sheik could ask what was happening, twin beams of bright golden light shot from the Rod.  One struck Sheik in the chest and froze him.  The other hit the symbol on the tree.  Two more beams shot from Sheik's symbol and the tree's symbol, meeting in the center, do that the whole thing formed a great triangle.

The light faded away in a few seconds, and Sheik and Link fell to the ground.  There was a tremendous rumbling, and the earth in the center of the Sacred Forest Meadow opened up.  Out of the abyss came a gigantic tree stump that must have belonged to a massive tree.  Facing the stairs that led out of the meadow was a door.

Sheik leaped to his feet and ran over to Link.  He was about to ask Link if he was all right, but then he saw the direction of Link's eyes.  

"What is it?" Whispered Sheik, staring at the opening in the tree stump.

Link looked at him as if Sheik was the biggest moron on the planet.  "What do you think?" he said incredulously.

Without another word between them, Sheik helped Link up and together they walked into the Temple of Seasons.

What awaits our two heroes in the Temple of Seasons?  What kind of cyber mischief is the bad guy up to?  For that matter, who IS the bad guy?  Find out on the next chapter of The Legend of Zelda: Clash of the Systems!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters, worlds, or items.  I own any items that I create, the three extra Spiritual Stones, the new temples, and the horns in Hyrule Field.  If anyone wants to use these ideas, you are more than welcome to, but please ask first!  Another thing.  I would like to give credit where it is due.  The inspiration to write a Zelda fanfic that did not go along with the plot of one of the Zelda games came from _The Innocence Sage Saga_, by Galaxy Girl.  HOWEVER, any similarities you notice in the plot so far are not intentionally put there.  The storyline of this fanfic is quite different from Galaxy Girl's story.  Please do not review saying that I'm copying anyone.

-Today's date is: November 11, 2003

Oh, hey I almost forgot to tell you, the first chapter of Dune Earth is almost finished.  You can expect to see it on fictionpress.com soon.  You can also expect the next chapter of LOZ:TRS:OOT, and you can expect Clash of the Systems to wait awhile (Awww!!!)  I'm working on a lot right now, so please be patient with me!  (At least now I have an excuse to take a long time.)  See ya!

-Jacoman52


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